Blogging or miscellaneous ramblings?

OK, so either I have ADD or I don't follow instructions (my mother would say the latter) because I just jumped into this without doing the exercises or the 23 things. I started blogging without first documenting how I'm learning to blog. After all, this is supposed to be more about learning than just rambling on. So, hereafter I will try to stick to the program (it won't be easy).

But...before I do that, my second day in D.C. was quite different than the first. I passed on a trip to the Spy Museum to see if they had Maxwell Smart's shoe phone or any cool 007 type gadgets, and ambled over to the National Building Museum to hear author David Macaulay talk about using perspective in the art of drawing architecture. Then it was to the ALA exhibits to scope out library furniture. Oh, if only our library had the money to buy some of the furnishings I saw! Saw some nice stuff and got some good ideas. That night I visited the reading room at the Library of Congress.

Yesterday was the day to check out library movers. A long day, but informative and productive. Oh yes, last night I saw the President leave the Ford Theater and he waved as he drove by, not 20 feet away. The amount of security here is incredible.

Alright, the blob -- oops, that's a 1958 movie with Steve McQueen -- the blog, I mean. I promise to start doing my exercises.

But first, I'm going to try and add a video by an accordion player who has crossed over to rap.

Who do you think that is?

Visit to Vietnam Vets Memorial

First day in D.C. and I found myself wandering toward the Vietnam Vets Memorial. I wasn't going to do this right off, but somehow felt drawn. I didn't expect the powerful and moving experience it turned out to be. Looked up The Bush Man, Milton Jackson Bush, a friend from Loadmaster Training in '66. Panel W24, Line 36. A good guy and my first friend from the South, a small town in Georgia. We had some great times together. He was in Vietnam less than two months before being shot down.

As Loadmaster on a C-141, I flew a lot of missions bringing young men over there and a lot of return trips bringing wounded back on air-evacs. And all the caskets...I will NEVER forget that horrible smell of formaldehyde all the way back to the morgue in Dover. But, for me, a small price to pay compared to those who sacrificed life and limb.

So, I sat and stared and thought. And cried some. Didn't think I would, it being so long ago. I was not alone. The memorial was crowded and many were leaving personal notes, photos, service medals and more. So many people affected. Someone had brought a bugle and was playing Taps. It was heartbreaking.

I normally don't think about those days much, but this moment to reflect on that particular time in my life was, I hope, a way of remembering and honoring all those I served with and those who didn't survive.

Well, I didn't intend to say so much, yet I feel I could go on and on. I won't. Bush Man, you are not forgotten. I salute you, and I'm glad I got a chance to pay my respect at the memorial.

Now What?

Where do I go from here?